Del Mar to offer bonus money to owners who ship in horses

In an attempt to attract more race horses to California and increase wagering, the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club will reward horse owners with monetary incentives this summer if they import runners from other states or countries.

Beginning July 20, the first day of the Del Mar summer meeting, owners will get a $1,000 bonus if the horse they enter and runs at Del Mar raced in another state or country in its previous race. That same horse will be eligible for a 20 percent bonus in earnings if it wins or finishes second through fifth. The purse bonus doesn’t apply to the 42 stakes races, but all horses who ship in following a race in another state or country are eligible for the $1,000 bonus in what is being called the “Ship and Win” program.

“We’re doing this to try and beef up our racing stock,” said Tom Robbins, Del Mar’s racing secretary. “The Thoroughbred Owners of California have signed off on it, so we have the owners’ blessing on this.

“We have set the racing bar high at Del Mar,” Robbins added. “In order to maintain that level and to deal with the reality of the current national horse inventory, we feel it is a good time to step up and offer rewards to those owners – both from within and from outside the state – who are willing to reinforce our stock of runners.”

The program carries a proviso that requires that eligible horses must not have raced in California for the same owner or ownership group in the past six months. And the bonus money also covers just the first race at Del Mar.

“We applaud Del Mar Thoroughbred Club for taking an innovative stance in their attempts to supplement their race meeting,” said Thoroughbred Owners of California’s chairman Jack Owens. “We will be encouraging our owners to go outside the state to bring back runners that not only can be part of the summer meet at Del Mar, but also will go on to race at other California meetings throughout the year.”

Recent figures released by the Jockey Club show that California’s registered foal crop dropped by more than 50 percent between 1991 and 2009, from 4,954 foals to 2,401. And nationally, wagering on horse racing is down 25 percent since peaking in 2003.

“There is little doubt that we’re in competition with every racetrack in the country for racehorses,” said DMTC president and general manager Craig Fravel. “There is also little doubt that running a horse at Del Mar is a special thing. We hope that the incentives we are now providing will enable and encourage more people to take part in that experience.”

Robbins said the incentive bonuses would have gone to the owners of 50 horses that raced at Del Mar last summer. He said that number should increase with the two-pronged Del Mar incentive program, being funded by the DMTC and the Thoroughbred Owners of California.

“We’re not just targeting owners who haven’t raced horses here, but we’re also hoping our California owners will buy horses from other states and bring them here,” said Robbins, adding that the incentive plan is a way for owners to offset the cost of transporting horses to Del Mar.

“The California horse population is in decline, and this is a way to increase our population from outside the state,” Robbins said.

Robbins also made it clear that Del Mar’s incentive plan for out-of-state and foreign horses is separate from the one being explored by the California Marketing Committee. That group is working with California racing secretaries like Robbins on a plan that would use the CMC’s state funds to buy out-of-state horses through private sales and by claiming. A discussion about that plan was postponed at Thursday’s California Horse Racing Board meeting at Golden Gate Fields in Albany. A portion of the state’s takeout from wagering provides funds for the CMC, and CHRB board member John Harris said the CMC’s money should be used for its original purpose, to attract racing fans to racetracks, not for buying horses from out of state.

“The whole idea is not sound,” Harris said of the CMC’s plan. “Let’s work on people we have here now to race here.”

Harris said the CMC has “gotten away from its original purpose.”

Meantime, Del Mar officials have studied the effect more entries have on the betting handle and believe that there is an increase of $100,000 for every additional horse entered in a race.

In terms of what the bonus money will mean to owners, a horse entered in a $75,000 allowance, the highest purse for a non-stakes race at Del Mar, could earn the owner an additional $10,000 ($9,000 for the win and $1,000 for shipping in from another state or country).

Robbins said the DMTC is doing all it can to avoid having to join other tracks like Santa Anita and Hollywood that were forced to go to four racing days. Del Mar went from six days to five days of racing in 2009. The last two meetings had 37 days of racing, down from 43 days in 2008. The 2010 meeting featured 325 races, down from 344 races in 2009.

But Del Mar officials recently released figures that show the upcoming 72nd meeting at the storied seaside track could be a record-breaker in terms of purses paid out to horse owners.

Robbins anticipates handing out the highest average daily purses in Del Mar’s history despite trimming purses in four of the meeting’s 42 stakes. He projects the daily average purses should be more than $550,000 and could topple the track’s all-time mark for daily average purses of $592,406 set in 2005.

Del Mar’s premier and signature stakes race, the Pacific Classic, will stay at $1 million thanks to a key sponsorship. The TVG Pacific Classic is set for Sunday, Aug. 28.

Also, Del Mar and Keeneland announced earlier this year that the two tracks have struck a partnership for the upcoming summer season. The Del Mar Thoroughbred Club and Keeneland officials will host several gatherings at Del Mar and nearby venues for potential new owners and their guests. Keeneland’s influence at Del Mar will include stakes tie-ins, signage and TV promotional spots.

Once Del Mar goes to post July 20 for opening day there will be racing every Wednesday through Sunday, with closing day set for Sept. 7. There also will be racing on Labor Day Monday (Sept. 5).

Robbins said any horsemen with questions about the “Ship and Win” program should contact him at Del Mar at (800) 874-8443.